Stellantis Might Drop Maserati: Report [Update: It’s Not]

Maserati is in bad shape and things look so bleak that Stellantis is considering selling it off, if reports found by Road & Track via Automotive News Europe are any indication.

Updated Thursday August 1, 2024 8:20 a.m. – Stellantis released this official statement regarding Maserati:

Stellantis has no intention of selling the Trident brand, just as there is no intention of aggregating Maserati within other Italian luxury groups.

Stellantis restates its unwavering commitment to Maserati’s bright future as the unique luxury brand within the 14 Stellantis brands.

Maserati is in a transition period toward electrification with its Folgore BEV program: today the Trident offers GranTurismo and GranCabrio in ICE and BEV versions, Grecale in ICE, mild-hybrid and BEV versions, while we confirm that successors of the Quattroporte and Levante are also in preparation.

Maserati’s mission is to write the future of mobility through the best performance in the luxury segment, focusing on the desires of its customers. To achieve its goals, the brand precisely targets a highly specific audience.

Maserati is therefore setting up a series of initiatives to expand its presence in the global market, to strengthen its brand image and to underline the uniqueness of its products. Maserati is facing a major challenge and must remain focused on its objectives in the coming months.

Stellantis reaffirms its commitment to its entire portfolio of 14 iconic brands and recalls that each of them has a 10-year horizon to build a profitable and sustainable business, while recognizing that market volatility and temporary situations may cause fluctuations.

Profits are down and the brand hardly sells any cars worldwide as Road & Track points out.

The historic, Modena-based luxury automaker isn’t doing so hot this year, with global sales down 50 percent year-over-year. By the numbers, Maserati only sold 6,500 units from January to June, while it sold 15,300 units during the same time period last year. Even worse, that accounts for an adjusted operating loss of $88.6 million in 2024, according to data analysis by Automotive News Europe.

Maserati isn’t alone. Stellantis as a whole hasn’t been doing so hot lately and both Stellanits CEO Carlos Tavares and CFO Natalie Knight have made public comments in recent weeks suggesting that some brands would be getting cut because of the automakers current situation. Only now though has the discussion turned specifically to Maserati.

“The future is about how we maintain best value. There could be some point in the future when we look at what’s the best home for [Maserati],” Road & Track says Knight said on a recent earnings call.

Knight blamed Maserati’s poor performance on the discontinuation of models like the Quattroporte, Ghibli and Levante, but as Road & Track points out, new model intros haven’t helped things either. There’s a new GranTurismo but sales of the Grecale, Maserati’s new compact SUV, were down 42 percent and less than 100 examples of the MC20 supercar were sold in 2023.

So who exactly would Maserati be sold off too? It would likely go back into the hands of brand that owned it before: Ferrari. It would be a win for both Italian brands, according to Road & Track:

Analysis by associate publisher and editor of Automotive News Europe Luca Ciferri explains that Ferrari, which owned Maserati from 1997 to 2005, could be best suited to buy Maserati. From its industry-leading 27% adjusted operating margin to a revenue yield of $6.5 billion in 2023, Ferrari is on top of its financials — and has plenty of experience with producing sweet-sounding, fast, and luxurious Italian vehicles. Ciferri also suggests that Ferrari could benefit greatly from the electrified powertrain investments that Maserati has made under Stellantis’s watch.

If the brand stays in Stellantis hands as Automotive News Europe says, don’t expect to see much change between now and 2027. Maserati’s coming EVs will likely get delayed. The Levante’s electric successor will hit the market that year while the Quattroporte’s electric successor comes in 2028, three years late.